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Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

Curious, funny, surprising daily history - with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll. From the invention of the Game Boy to the Mancunian beer-poisoning of 1900, from Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain to America's Nazi summer schools... each day we uncover an unexpected story for the ages. In just ten minutes! Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee). Get early access and ad-free listening at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.

  1. 1D AGO

    How '24' Changed TV

    Real-time thriller ‘24’, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, debuted on Fox on 6th November, 2001. The show’s use of split screens, constant tension, and ticking clocks became its signature style, and the nerve-shredding pilot went on to win an Emmy for series creators Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran. But, in a post-9/11 climate, its terrorism theme was not a dead cert, and its marketing - featuring a fiery jetliner dropping from the skies - was withdrawn following the tragedy. Yet as America’s mood shifted from grief to a hunger for justice, Sutherland’s anti-hero, breaking the rules to protect his country, became the cathartic character the USA seemed to need.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the series was nearly a comedy about a shotgun wedding; consider how the writers dealt with the numerous challenges thrown up by the format (e.g. how do you let Jack heal or sleep in real time?); and explain why it was on DVD, not TV, that the show truly left its mark…  Further Reading: • ‘TELEVISION REVIEW; Racing in Real Time to Track Down an Assassin and a Daughter’ (The New York Times, 2001): https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/06/arts/television-review-racing-in-real-time-to-track-down-an-assassin-and-a-daughter.html?searchResultPosition=10 • ‘'24' Executive Producer On How The Series' Run Was Defined By 9/11’ (Deadline, 2021): https://deadline.com/2021/09/24-tv-series-9-11-impact-20-years-later-1234823534/ • ‘Previously on 24’ (Fox, 2001): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rJhHWoR0VM #TV #2000s #US  Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    13 min

  2. 1D AGO · BONUS • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    EXTRA: Did ‘24’ Endorse Torture?

    How did Jack Bauer extract critical information under pressure? Through torture, of course! But, as Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider - in this bonus bit for our 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon - ‘24’s enthusiasm for torture was controversial, especially as it aired during the Bush administration’s real-world debates on interrogation practices… Further Reading: • ‘Reel Impact: Movies and TV that Changed History - “24,” Jack Bauer, and the Torture Lie’ (Scriptmag, 2021): https://scriptmag.com/screenplays/reel-impact-movies-and-tv-that-changed-history-24-jack-bauer-and-the-torture-lie

    4 min

  3. 2D AGO

    Kublai Khan's Kamikaze Climbdown

    The Mongols attempted to invade Japan on 5th November, 1274. Despite having a fleet of 900 ships, they failed - in part due to a ‘kamikaze’ typhoon that whooshed their boats back to Korea. Then they tried again - and failed again. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how a gunpowder-armed Army was defeated by the Samurai; reveal the brutal (yet unambiguous) response the Japanese gave to the Chinese diplomats who attempted to talk things through; and unearth the surprising connection between Kublai Khan and Lionel Blair… Further Reading: • ‘Kublai Khan - Biography, Death & Achievements’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/topics/china/kublai-khan • Japan's Kamikaze Winds, the Stuff of Legend, May Have Been Real (National Geographic, 2014): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/141104-kamikaze-kublai-khan-winds-typhoon-japan-invasion • ‘Mongol Invasion of Japan: Maps, Animation and Timelines’ (Past To Future, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpguP8emkYc This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    12 min

  4. 3D AGO

    Digging Up King Tut

    Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered by a water boy who serendipitously stumbled on a buried staircase in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings on 4th November, 1922. It marked the greatest triumph in archaeologist Howard Carter’s career, and unearthed dozens of priceless treasures. The loot included the famous golden death-mask - but also the Pharaoh's walking sticks, linen underwear, and uneaten chickpeas. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the discovery kickstarted a Western interest in Egpytology that influenced fashion, design and art, and lead directly to Indiana Jones; ask whether Carter was a historian or a grave-robber; and dig into the so-called ‘Mummy’s Curse’...  Further Reading: • ‘Discovering King Tutankhamun's tomb: Harry Burton's photographs’ (BBC News, 2018): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-44636774 • ‘The History Of A Cursed Ancient Egyptian Tomb’ (Channel 5, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxot6xmDymQ • ‘Howard Carter - King Tut, Death & Family’ (Biography, 2020): https://www.biography.com/scientist/howard-carter This episode first aired in 2021 Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    11 min

  5. 4D AGO

    Phil Spector's 'Phantom Voice'

    The Crystals hit number one with their version of Gene Pitney’s ‘He’s a Rebel’ on 3rd November, 1962, but it was actually another of Phil Spector’s girl-groups, The Blossoms, who had recorded the song. The two groups never even met, until awkwardly posing together for Spector’s iconic Christmas album cover. Lead singer Darlene Love, realising her $5,000 fee was a fraction of what the song had made, demanded royalties - leading Spector to turn his attention to The Ronettes instead… Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how the success of He’s A Rebel led to Spector’s absurd 10-minute “swan song” Let’s Do the Screw, a parting blow to his business partners; explain why Love changed her name by deed poll; and consider how Spector’s “Wall of Sound” Spector created a major impact, but at the expense of his artists’ well-being… Further Reading: • ’Darlene Love Remembers Phil Spector, Their Thorny Relationship’ (Billboard, 2021): https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/darlene-love-remembers-phil-spector-9512712/ • ‘The Voices Of Black Women Were Essential To Phil Spector's Wall Of Sound’ (NPR, 2021): https://www.npr.org/2021/01/21/959057719/the-voices-of-black-women-were-essential-to-phil-spectors-wall-of-sound • ‘The Crystals - He’s a Rebel’ (Philles, 1962): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waRbcqP4cUI Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    13 min

  6. 5D AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Sunday Special: Flying The Spruce Goose

    Howard Hughes - aviator, filmmaker, and all-around eccentric - gathered reporters at Long Beach, California on 2nd November, 1947 to witness his giant seaplane, nicknamed ‘the Spruce Goose’, take flight. For 26 seconds. Built mostly of birch, the “Goose” was officially called the H-4 Hercules, a flying boat dreamed up during World War II as a way to transport 750 troops or even tanks across the Atlantic, while avoiding Nazi submarines. It was the brainchild of industrialist Henry Kaiser and Hughes, who teamed up in 1942 to build three prototypes. Wartime metal shortages forced them to construct it from laminated wood; although by the time it finally left the water, the war was long over, Kaiser had quit, and Hughes was flying solo - literally and financially. In this Sunday Special for our 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Hughes came to be defending the project at a U.S. Senate committee; reveal the ‘mad genius’ behaviour that marked him out as one of the most influential tech billionaires of all time; and uncover what happened to the gargantuan Goose after his death in 1976… Further Reading: • 'The Spruce Goose: The All-Wood Plane That Only Flew Once’ (All That’s Interesting, 2024): https://allthatsinteresting.com/spruce-goose • '10 amazing facts about Howard Hughes’ (Telegraph, 2017): https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/lists/howard-hughes-facts/ • 'Hughes' H-4 Hercules Flies!’ (1947): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5EgnoKb5Eo #Design #Technology #Person #WW2 Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Ollie Peart Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.

    12 min

  7. OCT 31

    The BBC's Halloween Hoax

    ‘Ghostwatch’, a Halloween drama in the style of a documentary, reached 11 million viewers on its first and only UK broadcast on BBC 1, on 31st October, 1992. It starred Sarah Greene, Craig Charles, Mike Smith, and - in a stroke of genius - trusted veteran broadcaster Michael Parkinson, who became possessed by the voice of ‘Pipes’ as the programme reached its terrifying climax.  The show caused outrage for its disturbing content and the way it blurred the line between fact and fiction. Most of the 30,000 complainants didn’t believe the events portrayed were real; they were simply distressed that the BBC would make a horror drama that borrowed the visual language of current affairs television. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the entire cast and crew were holed up in a Chiswick sailing club during the transmission; consider how the show’s pioneering style influenced the likes of Derek Acorah and ‘Most Haunted’; and document the astonishing effect the show allegedly had on young viewers…  Further Reading: • ‘Ghostwatch is 30: "It got a reputation as something subversive"’ (Radio Times, 2022): https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/fantasy/ghostwatch-oral-history-rt-rewind/ • ‘30 years on, Ghostwatch is still as haunting as ever’ (Little White Lies, 2022): https://lwlies.com/articles/30-years-on-ghostwatch-is-still-a-haunting-watch/ • ‘Ghostwatch’ (BBC, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JkEbGMEXVs This show first aired in 2023 Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    11 min

  8. OCT 30

    The Slave Rebellion

    Nat Turner, leader of the deadliest slave rebellion in U.S. history, was captured on 30th October, 1831. For over two months, he’d hidden out in the woods of Virginia, having led a violent uprising that terrified white Southerners and electrified the enslaved population. When finally caught, by farmer Benjamin Phipps, Turner was armed only with a sword and a few branches. Born into slavery in 1800, Turner was marked from birth - literally - with mysterious symbols on his chest that his family interpreted as a sign from God. A prodigious reader and deeply religious, he became known as a preacher, believing he was divinely chosen to free his people.  In the early hours of August 22, he and his accomplices started their killing spree by murdering Turner’s master, Joseph Travis, and his family. They then moved swiftly across Southampton County, recruiting others and attacking slaveholders. Their plan was to reach the county seat of Jerusalem, seize weapons, and spark a full-scale revolution. By the rebellion’s end, about 60 white people were dead, but so were over 120 Black people, many of them innocent victims of revenge killings by militias and vigilantes.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the manhunt for Turner and the brief trial before he was hanged; reveal how white lawmakers responded to events with ever-harsher laws prohibiting the movements of enslaved people; and consider Turner’s complex legacy…  CONTENT WARNING: descriptions of extreme violence, racist violence, racism, mutilation. Further Reading: • 'Nat Turner’s Insurrection’ (The Atlantic, 1861): https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/02/nat-turners-insurrection/308791/ • 'Black History | Nat Turner’ (African-American History Online): https://www.africanamericanhistoryonline.com/natturner.php • 'THE BIRTH OF A NATION’ (Searchlight Pictures, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm15udgj3zs #Black #Racism #US #Crime #Protest #Scandal #1800s  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    14 min
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Curious, funny, surprising daily history - with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll. From the invention of the Game Boy to the Mancunian beer-poisoning of 1900, from Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain to America's Nazi summer schools... each day we uncover an unexpected story for the ages. In just ten minutes! Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee). Get early access and ad-free listening at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.

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